1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing system, an image processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Multifunction peripherals (MFPs) capable of executing a wide variety of jobs are used in office environments. For example, the MFP can execute a copy job and a network print job. In the office environment, a person or persons often issue print instructions from their desks placed away from the MFP. In such a case, after the person issues the print instruction, an output product remains on a discharge tray of the MFP until the person goes and collects the output product from the MFP. Since the MFP is often used under an environment where many people exist, there has been such an issue that an output product is accidentally removed by the wrong person.
As a method for solving such an issue, there is a method called a secure print function. According to the secure print function, when a person inputs a print job from a personal computer (PC), the print job is once held in the MFP until the person issues a print execution instruction on an operation panel of the MFP. When the print execution instruction is issued, the MFP executes a print operation. With this function, the MFP starts printing a document when the person is present in front of the MFP. This enables an output product to be always within the sight of the person, thereby reliably preventing the output product from being accidentally removed by the wrong person.
Recently, with growing interest in security, network cameras have been installed in many locations for monitoring purposes. Some network cameras are connected to a network, so that captured videos are stored in a recording apparatus on the network. There has been discussed a method for solving the above issue by combining such a network camera with an MFP. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-197152 discusses a technique in which a network camera starts capturing a video of an area near an MFP when a person inputs a print job, and stops capturing the video when the MFP detects removal of an output product from a discharge tray. When the person notices that his or her output product is missing, the person can review the video captured by the network camera to find a person who has removed the document.
The secure print function can prevent an output product from being accidentally removed by the wrong person. However, the use of such a function keeps a user waiting from the issue of a print execution instruction on the operation panel of the MFP until the completion of the printing. Particularly, when a plurality of pages is to be printed, the user needs to wait for a longer time.
Moreover, according to the method discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-197152, even though the output product can be taken back later, there is a possibility that an output product may be temporarily removed by a third party. In addition, removal of a sheet from the discharge tray of the MFP is generally detected by a simple detection method. For example, the detection method simply determines whether there is a sheet that is in contact with an upper surface of the discharge tray. Thus, even if a middle page is pulled out from a plurality of output products, the MFP cannot detect the fact. Consequently, even if a person peeks at one portion of the documents by removing and returning it, a print job owner may not notice such an incident unless the owner reviews the video.